The Shadow Of The Day
by WritingIsHardBro
Summary: Stiles Stilinski is a 28 father of three who recently lost his wife. He's just as immersed in the world of Supernatural as he was when he was a teenager-so what happens when his youngest daughter starts seeing his dead wife?


**Before**

If there was one thing she hated, it was traffic. She drummed her fingers against the wheel of the car, humming along with the song playing softly on the radio. She was already late getting home-her meetings had run late once again. The light turned green, and the cars remained frozen. Lydia let out a groan, rolling her eyes at the sound of someone laying on their horn behind her. The cars rolled forward slowly, inching forward at an agonizingly slow rate. Lydia felt her phone buzz in her pocket, and pulled it out, looking at the Caller ID.

The redhead couldn't help but smile at the picture lighting up on her phone. It was her husband, with their son and daughter hanging on his back and their youngest daughter hanging upside down in his arms, all four of them laughing. She pressed the green button, and held the phone up to her ear.

"This traffic is horrible-I swear, I could _walk_ home faster."

She heard a familiar laugh on the other end and couldn't help but smile, "Don't worry about it Lyds. I took care of dinner-saved you some and everything."

Lydia let out a groan, "If _you_ took care of dinner that either means either McDonalds or Taco Bell."

Another laugh, "You know me well-Brock wanted McDonalds. He called me while I was work and everything. I figured the little guy deserved it if he wanted it _that_ much. I got you one of their wraps."

"God, that boy really is your son." She shook her head, finally turning onto a less crowded road. "I'm still about twenty minutes away, so if I'm not home by the kids bedtimes make sure that you brush their teeth and that you comb the girl's hair."

"Lydia, Relax, I know how to take care of my own kids."

"Stiles, Last month when I was on a business trip you sent Brock to school in his PJ's."

"Okay, so I messed up once-I'm human, give me a break." Lydia could almost hear him rolling his eyes at her, causing her to copy the motion without even realizing it.

"Just make sure it gets done-And if you forget to comb the girls' hair, I'm sure Alli will remind you."

"God, that girl really is your daughter."

"Shut up Stiles-I'll let you go make sure the kids haven't done anything they shouldn't. I love you."

"Love you too Lyds. See you in a bit."

There was a beep and the line went dead. Lydia tossed the phone on the passengers seat, her eyes drifting to the pink car seat her youngest daughter sat in when she rode in her car. The banshee couldn't help but smile. She turned her attention back to the road, it was mostly empty, save for a few cars zooming by here and there.

All of a sudden, Lydia felt a wave of nausea hit her and she got dizzy. Everything was spinning and it looked as if there were three roads in front of her instead of just one. She made a move to pull over before everything went completely black.

* * *

><p>"Daddy! Daddy! Brock took my barbie doll." A little girl cried, rushing out of their playroom.<p>

Stiles turned from the sink, scooping up the girl with a smile. "Super Daddy to the rescue! I'll go save your barbie from Brock Alli. I promise." And with that, he swung her around so that she was clinging on to his back. Alli let out loud giggle as Stiles rushed into the playroom, swinging her around so she was once again standing on her feet. He saw his son, puttering around with his toy airplane...a very familiar barbie doll shoved in the copilot's seat.

"See! Look! He took it _without even asking._" Alli pointed, her bottom lip rolling into her mouth. "Stupid boys. You are so immature Brock."

The little boy looked up, the airplane falling to his side. "Alli, _you're_ stupid. You can't be more immature than me. We're the same age."

"I'm five minutes older than you are though, so that makes me the oldest and the most mature one."

"Okay, Okay, time for Super Dad to step in." Stiles shook his head, squatting in between the twins. "Brock, Did you take Alli's barbie without asking her?" Brock rolled his eyes but nodded, his small arms crossing. "Okay, Brock, you can't just take her toys without asking, just like she can't take yours without asking you. So, next time you have to ask her." He turned his attention to his daughter, "And on that note, we can share our toys. Also, you aren't allowed to call your brother immature."

"But Daddy, he is immature." Alli whined, "I'm just telling the truth."

"I'm not immature, you're immature." Brock retorted.

There was a shrill crying from the other room and Stiles let out a sigh and pointed at the twins, "You two...get along. I'm going to go deal with your baby sister."

Alli frowned, taking her barbie and stomping away. She plopped down on the couch and began fixing her barbie's hair. Stiles shook his head, getting up from his crouching position on the floor. He crossed through the kitchen, grabbing one of his youngest daughter's stuff animals from the counter. The two year old was at the bottom of the stairs, her eyes watering, her lip trembling.

"Where's Mommy? She prom'sed me that we'd read about the princesses tonight." She stuck her thumb in her mouth, her eyes still red and puffy.

"It's okay Claudia. Mommy's running a bit late. How about you and I read about the princesses? Look, I even have Mr. Gordo." Stiles pulled the stuff pig out from behind his back, handing it to his youngest.

"Will you send Mommy up when she gets home then?" Claudia asked, her strawberry blonde curls brushing her shoulder.

"I promise-Mommy will come up to give you a goodnight kiss as soon as she gets home." Stiles picked up the girl, resting her on his hip. She laid her head on his shoulder, letting out a yawn. Stiles turned his head, shouting back to his older kids. "I'm going to put Claudia to bed. You two better not kill each other while I put her down."

"Make sure you comb her hair!" Alli called back.

Stiles rolled his eyes, "God, that girl is her mother's daughter." He climbed the stairs, Claudia resting on his hip. He pushed open the door to her bedroom and placed her on her bed. He grabbed the comb off the nightstand and began combing through his daughter's curls.

"Ow. Daddy you're pull'ng." She cried, her hand going back to grab her father's wrist.

"Oh, crap. Sorry."

"Mommy says we aren't 'uppose to say that word."

"Right, Dang it. Okay, Don't tell Mommy I said that, alright? It'll be our secret." Stiles finished his daughter's hair, turning her around so he could look in her eyes.

" 'kay." Claudia moved to wiggle under the covers, pointing to the book. "That's the book Mommy and I read 'gether."

Stiles nodded and picked up the book and began reading the first story from the book. He read through the story slowly, changing his pitch for each character in the story. He finished the story, his gaze moving over to his two year old who was now fast asleep. Stiles slipped out of the bed, tucking the covers in around her. He went down the stairs two at a time back down to his four year olds. He looked at the clock and frowned, it was eight o'clock, and still no sign of Lydia. He shook his head, no need to worry about nothing. It was probably just bad traffic.

"Alright my other munchkins-It's time for bed." Stiles called, slightly quieter than he would have had he not just put one of his kids to bed.

* * *

><p>Everything was black-pitch black...and it was cold, it was freezing. Lydia felt the urge to wrap her arms around herself for warmth, but her arms wouldn't move. Nothing would move, she was frozen, unable to move.<p>

_"What the hell is happening to me?" _She tried to say, _"Where the hell am I?" _

Lydia felt like screaming, she needed to figure out what the hell was going on, what was happening to her.

_"Why is it so cold? Why can't I move?"_ She wanted to yell.

As soon as she thought it, there was a fiery sensation in her chest and suddenly everything was too bright, and everything was too loud. Once again, she couldn't move. But she could hear, people rushing around her, yelling...sounding panicked.

Something was wrong-her body wouldn't move. She could feel a brace around her neck, holding her head still. Even so, she had to let them know...let them know that she couldn't move...and that they need to tell Stiles.

Stiles needed to be there.

* * *

><p>Stiles was closing the door to Brock's room when his cellphone rang. He hit the answer button, holding the device to his ear and speaking in hushed tones.<p>

"Hey Alex-What's up?"

"Sorry to bug you Deputy, but there was a pretty bag accident. We need your help. Can you swing by?"

Stiles thought for a moment, Lydia still wasn't home, but they did need him. He could always call Scott to watch the kid's..."Alright, I'll be there soon. I need to call someone to watch the kids."

"You're a lifesaver."

Stiles hung up, hitting the 3 on his phone-his speed dial for Scott. He picked up on the second ring.

"Hey dude, what's up?"

"I gotta ask you a big favor. Lyds isn't home yet, and they need at the station. Mind coming over to watch the kids?"

"Sure, no problem. They're asleep, aren't they?" Scott asked.

"Yeah, all three of them are. But I want someone here incase they wake up. I'm sure Lydia will be home soon, so you can come home once she gets here."

"I'll be over in a second bro."

Stiles hit the end button and slipped the phone in his pocket, going to grab his jacket and keys. He checked his phone again, trying to see if Lydia had called him and he missed it. She hadn't. He moved to the couch, flipping through his phone...waiting for Lydia to contact him. After a few minutes, he heard Scott pull up on his motorcycle. He threw open the door to the house, rushing out to meet him.

"Thank you so much Scott. You're the best. Now if any of them wake up, just tell them I went go do something for work, alright?"

"Yeah Stiles, I got it. Go and help out." Scott laughed, shaking his head. "I'll call you when Lydia gets home."

He nodded, shrugging on his jacket and getting in his car, speeding off to the scene of the accident. (Alex had texted him where it'd happened.)

* * *

><p>Stiles pulled up to the scene a few minutes later-he was really only ten minutes away from it to begin with. He pulled off to the side and hurried up to where his dad was standing. Sheriff Stilinski was quite a bit older now, but he was still kicking as the town's Sheriff.<p>

"Hey Dad, Wh-" Stiles stopped, seeing the expression on his father's face. "What's wrong?"

"Stiles, before we-"

Stiles' gaze shifted from his Dad to the wreckage behind him. One of the cars was a complete mess-and beside it was a child's carseat. One Stiles recognized immediately.

"Where is she?" He asked softly, his fingers twisting his wedding ring around his finger.

"Stiles, You might wan-"

_"Where is she?"_ He yelled, _"Where is my wife?" _

"She's just left in the ambulance. If you hurry and go, then you should get there around the same time as her. Go, I'll take care of things here."

Stiles nodded, rushing off to his car and speeding off. As he drove to the hospital, a bunch of different thoughts made their way through his head. What would he do without Lydia? How would he handle the kids without her? He took a deep breath, deciding not to think about those things, Lydia would be okay. She had to be.

He pulled into the hospital, parking in the first open spot he saw and rushing inside.

"I'm here for Lydia Stilinski-She's my wife, and was in an accident." He blurted to the nurse at the counter, panting from having run from his car to the front desk.

"-We just got her in. She's in critical care. No one is allowed in to see her right now, she has to have surgery." The nurse looked up from her computer, "You can wait in the waiting room, I'm sure her Doctor will be out to talk to you once she gets out of surgery."

Stiles frowned, "Fine." He turned on his heel and sat down in the nearest chair. He tapped his foot anxiously. This was going to take forever.

* * *

><p>A few hours later Stiles was still sitting in the waiting room, he'd text Scott and let him know what was going on and in the case that he wasn't home in the morning to get the kids ready for school. He was still tapping his foot, the noise echoing off the walls.<p>

_tap, tap, tap_

The door opened and a doctor walked out, "Is there a Mr. Stilinski out here?"

Stiles shot up, "That'd be me. Is she alright? How is Lydia?"

"She's...She's alive. If you like you can go in and see her. I don't know if she'll be able to respond, but it might ease your mind. I heard your tapping foot halfway down the hallway." He shook his head, "Come on, I'll show you to her room."

Stiles nodded, and the two started down the hall, their feet tapping quietly against the tile, the noise echoing off the walls.

_tap, tap, tap_

They walked up to room 259-and number Stiles now considered his most unlucky number-and walked inside. Lydia was lying on the bed, covered in plaster. Stiles felt his breath catch in his throat. The doctor looked from Lydia to Stiles and patted him on the back, "Hit the button if you need anything."

Stiles sat down in the chair next to Lydia's bed, looking down at her hand. Her ring was glimmering in the white hospital lights, the diamond cracked down the middle. He felt a tear roll down his cheek as he reached forward and took his wife's hand. He felt her fingers twitch slightly and his eyes light up. He looked at her, hoping that she'd say something-anything to him. He saw her jaw move slightly, as if she was about to speak.

But she didn't.

Instead her jaw dropped and the loudest, ear shattering scream rang through out the hospital room.


End file.
